In and Out of Chinatown: Residential Mobility and Segregation of New York City's Chinese

The best-developed theoretical model for research on minority group incorporation into society predicts gradual but progressive assimilation. This study investigates the residential patterns of Chinese residents of the New York metropolitan area, questioning whether this model adequately accounts for the differences in personal characteristics of the Chinese who live in different parts of the metropolis and for the segregation of the Chinese from other racial and ethnic groups. We conclude that socioeconomic status, marriage, and fertility operate among the Chinese, as for other groups, to promote residential location outside the Chinatown enclave. But the unique characteristics of the enclave economy, the new immigrants' kinship ties to the ethnic community, and the ethnic segmentation of the housing market jointly structure the locational pattern.